Two events to discuss the situation of the multilateral trading system, Azerbaijan bilateral trade relationships and energy services are implemented
Two events, bringing together approximately 40 Government officials from various Ministries and other Government bodies, were implemented on June 29 and 30, 2022.
The 2-hour round table presented the energy-related results of WTO accession negotiations of several countries and discussed the bilateral requests made by some WTO Members to Azerbaijan.
In turn, the full-day event entitled "The Multilateral Trading System and Bilateral Trade Relationships: A Review of the Current Situation and Forward-Looking Perspectives" was dedicated to addressing critical aspects of the Azerbaijani trade policy agenda. Ms Alasgarova, Deputy Director of the Trade Policy and WTO Department of the Ministry of Economy, and Ms Abdullayeva, task manager at the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, opened the event.
The first presentation focused on the results of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, held earlier in June 2022, and challenges affecting the multilateral trading system (MTS). Dr Appleton, the speaker of the first session, said,
"despite the multiple challenges stemming from the complex geopolitical situation we live in and the COVID-related impact, the rule-based MTS is an invaluable asset to the global community, as Ministers made it clear during the Ministerial Conference. The MTS will continue to deliver economic development to WTO members that abide by its core obligations, attract investment, and integrate into global value chains."
The second session, led by Mr Rasulov from the WTO Secretariat, focused on the WTO accession process, achievements of accessions to date, including benefits of WTO membership, state of play in the ongoing accessions (including Azerbaijan), and challenges and opportunities of the accession process. In reply to one question about why WTO accession should be prioritised over negotiating bilateral trade agreements with a country's main trading partners, he stated as follows:
"In addition to better market access terms to the markets of all other WTO members, an acceding country benefits from the following:
First, being a WTO Member secures a sit on the negotiating table when new global trade rules are developed. The recently concluded WTO Ministerial Conference demonstrates it. By acceding to the WTO, a country becomes a "rule-maker" instead of a "rule-taker".
Second, WTO accession process is usually utilised as an external factor to drive domestic reform agenda. During the accession process, an acceding country shall implement internal reforms to modernise its economy and institutional frameworks. Acceding countries make these changes, with the assistance of WTO members, because of the assessed benefits they will bring.
Third, WTO is a brand name. The accession process enhances transparency and brings security and predictability in doing business, among others. This facilitates the attraction of foreign direct investment, for instance."
The second group of presentations focused on bilateral trade negotiations and agreements. In the third presentation, Dr Yagmur explained the international trade agreements of Türkiye, concentrating on the Azerbaijan-Türkiye partial scope agreement. He briefly outlined the agreement's content, noting that it applies to a limited number of products and that preferential imports are capped (by a tariff quota). He presented data on the use of the tariff preferences of the agreement. According to Turkish import data, Azerbaijani imports covered by the agreement are very limited and concentrated on three tariff lines (black tea, wine of fresh grapes and fresh persimmons). Turkish exports to Azerbaijan benefit from tariff preferences; however, the use is limited for most of the tariff lines to which the agreement applies. To increase the economic relevance and benefits of the agreement, Dr Yagmur proposed "to promote [the agreement] among producers/exporters, and expand the goods coverage in the future, by including industrial goods as well." In reply, it was stated that the Governments of Azerbaijan and Türkiye are considering expanding the product coverage in line with other obligations of the parties.
Bearing in mind that Azerbaijan and the EU are negotiating a new partnership and cooperation agreement with a trade chapter, the last presentation was on the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Kazakhstan. Ms Kassabekova, a Kazakh negotiator of the EU-Kazakhstan agreement, outlined the main provisions of the trade chapter of this non-preferential trade agreement. [It is a non-preferential agreement because its parties did not exchange concessions in goods and services.] She explained the process of implementation of the agreement, i.e. what normative and institutional changes have taken place in areas such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, services, intellectual property, government procurement and state-owned enterprises. Finally, since the agreement does not involve tariff concessions, she stated that the positive economic results of the agreement are mainly in the form of the attraction of considerable amounts of foreign direct investment from the EU into Kazakhstan.
The EU-funded project presented trade-related public awareness materials that it has developed during its implementation.
